{"id":170394,"date":"2025-11-03T15:15:00","date_gmt":"2025-11-03T15:15:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/jwolfepr.com\/dev\/?p=170394"},"modified":"2026-01-28T20:43:55","modified_gmt":"2026-01-28T20:43:55","slug":"little-amelie-or-the-character-of-rain","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/jwolfepr.com\/dev\/little-amelie-or-the-character-of-rain\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Little Am\u00e9lie or the Character of Rain\u2019 Directors Discuss Their Hand-Crafted Vision of Childhood | Animation Magazine"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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‘Little Am\u00e9lie or the Character of Rain’ [Maybe Movies, Ikkie Films, 2 Minutes, France 3 Cinema, Puffing PIctures, 22D Music]<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Animation Magazine<\/em> \u2014 November 3, 2025
\u2018Little Am\u00e9lie or the Character of Rain\u2019 Directors Discuss Their Hand-Crafted Vision of Childhood<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

***This article was written for the December 2025 issue of Animation Magazine (No. 354)***<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

When Little Am\u00e9lie or the Character of Rain<\/em> premiered earlier this year in the Directors\u2019 Fortnight at Cannes, it was lauded for its bold graphic visual style and heartfelt story adapted from Am\u00e9lie Nothomb\u2019s bestselling autobiographical novel. The 2D, digitally animated French-language film went on to win the Audience Award at Annecy, had its North American premiere at Toronto and will reach U.S. theaters via distributor GKIDS beginning November 7.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In postwar Japan, where Western foreigners lived both inside and outside local traditions, Am\u00e9lie (voiced by Lo\u00efse Charpentier) spends her early childhood in the care of her devoted nanny, Nishio-san (Victoria Grosbois). To her family, she is a distant and unknowable cipher, reflecting the Japanese belief that young children are more akin to gods than humans. That sense of mystery unravels on Am\u00e9lie\u2019s third birthday, when a family event \u2014 and her very first taste of chocolate \u2014 alters her world and sets her on a path of discovery.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The 78-minute film is directed by Ma\u00eflys Vallade and Liane-Cho Han from a screenplay by Han and Vallade alongside French screenwriter Aude Py and art director and production designer Eddine No\u00ebl (Long Way North, The Little Prince<\/em>). It was produced by Ikki Films and Maybe Movies, with producers Nidia Santiago, Edwina Liard, Claire La Combe and Henri Magalon, and executive producers Jean-Michel Spiner and Mireille Sarrazin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For Vallade and Han, both Gobelins alumni and longtime collaborators, the project is the culmination of years of shared experience. Yet it is also a first \u2014 their debut feature, one that brings to life the fragility and wonder of childhood through a handcrafted graphic style created with their close-knit artistic \u201cfamily.\u201d (Read full story…<\/a><\/em>)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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